§ 18. Sir E. CORNWALLasked the Secretary of State for War whether he can give any information as to the total number of prisoners of war now in the hands of each of the Allies and of the enemy?
§ Mr. FORSTERIt was stated by my right hon. Friend the Secretary for Scotland, on the 15th May, in reply to the hon. Member for North Somerset, that the War Office could not regard it as part of their duty to make any statement as to the numbers of officers or men the enemy might have captured from any of our Allies individually or from them all collectively. That statement holds good and applies also to the question of prisoners taken by our Allies as well as those taken from our Allies. As regards prisoners taken by His Majesty's Forces in the various theatres of war, I may inform him that the number of combatant prisoners of war is 21,535, of whom 458 are officers. In addition to this there are a number of prisoners recently captured who have not yet reached this country.